“Sarat kal” – does that ring any bell? Of course it does. Other than the brilliant blue sky dotted with soft white clouds it’s that time of the year when you let go of all worries and enjoy the four days of Durga Puja. For our non-Bong friends, Sarat kal is the autumn season according to the Bengali calendar. Durga Puja, doesn’t only mean worshipping the goddess of feminine power, but a lot more – shopping before the puja, pandal hopping during the four days, and of course eating and eating and more eating.

I’m sure you all have left your health conscious souls at home and gorged on the wonderful street foods. I just can’t think about passing a puja without gulping on some phuchkas (fuchka) and biting on egg rolls. What’s your Puja special dish, do let us know?

Just after Durga Puja is Lakshmi puja. The goddess of wealth and well being is ushered to almost every Bengali household (though some people worship the goddess on Kali Puja day). This year Lakshmi Puja will be celebrated tomorrow.

After numerous calls, e-mails, wall posts and scraps from friends from all over the globe, I decided on posting something which is specially made for this occasion – murki and mowa (pronounced as moa).

Murki is made from a special variety of puffed rice called Khoi in Bengali and is mixed with molasses or gur. Mowa on the other hand can be prepared with Khoi, mudi or even chidde. Here’s how my mom prepares both these two sweet ambrosia. The basic method of preparation is the same.

Ingredients:

For murki:

½ kg of Puffed Rice (Khoi)

250gms of Molasses/ Jaggery (Gur)

Preparation:

Start stirring the jaggery over low heat.

As it turns sticky and sticks to the back of the ladle, take out of flame

Pour of the khoi and mix well

Keep aside in air tight container

For mowa:

Take about 350gms of jaggery

Mix the jaggery and khoi/muri/chidde together

With the help of your palm make big balls

Store in air tight containers

Mowa is still in the making, will put up the photo as soon as its done.

Oindrila
Its probably because you have used too much jaggery than required. If the puffed rice gets too soggy, the moa ont be formed. Try using less amount of jaggery next time. Also, you can heat the puffed rice before pouring the jaggery, dont boil the jaggery for too long. Quickly divide the puffed rice, then form into balls.